Lord Of The Flies Speech Analysis

The Declaration of Independence was written because people decided they were going to speak up about their rights. Notably, in dire situations no one is to blame but the unspoken. In William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, a school group of boys stranded on an island, attempting to create order have the same matter of the consequences speech and silence creates. Before the group even begins to know each other two boys, of the names Ralph and Jack, take control over the silence and gain power. Throughout the novel, Golding demonstrates how speech or lack thereof, in a life or death situation influences who the leader is, what the group fears, and who will fall victim to the consequences of their actions.
Throughout the novel, the silence of more …show more content…
To the group, Roger is seen as this cryptic figure. He does not speak up as much as Ralph or Jack, though somehow he remains one of the top boys. Golding writes, “Roger stooped, picked up a stone, aimed, and threw it at Henry… Henry turned obediently but always too late to see the stones in the air...Roger had whipped behind the palm again” (62). Roger’s actions here portray how, without any explanation, he feels the urge to pick on the smaller boys. However, when Henry turns around and Roger hides, he demonstrates that he would like to retain his mysterious facade. Roger’s silence is what scares the boys more than anything else because of his lack of reasoning that he gives with all of his disreputable actions. The portrayal of Roger has no real feelings, and he only learns to copy thoughts and actions from Jack without even questioning his rationale, thus making his silence terrifying. His way of implanting fear and retaining his high position is by staying the silent, mysterious henchman of Jack. Contradicting to Roger, Jack uses his confidence while speaking to gain leadership by scaring the boys. Almost instantly he becomes leader of his group because “[Jack] can sing a C sharp”(Golding 22). In the beginning of the novel he was praised for using his voice and currently he is being praised by his hunters for leading hunts and starting chants. These compliments always …show more content…
Those who take the backlash from Jack’s authority, were, at the time of their demise, attempting to speak out about conflicts that would enrage Jack. Similarly, Simon’s attempt to tell the group about the beast surrounds his death. Being skeptical about the beast, he goes up the mountain to find the truth. As he finds the beast he comes to the conclusion that it is only a dead body. He travels down the mountain to tell the group and comes out “[C]rying out something about a dead man on a hill. ‘Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood! Do him in’” (Golding 152). Simon’s death was not a complete accident and they did chose to use him for the reenactment. It was Jack’s choice to use his power over speech to force Simon into being the reenactment for the pig’s death, which would satisfy the group and more importantly stop his motive to tell the truth about the beast. Thus Simon’s death benefits Jack’s crusade to kill the beast. With this in mind, Piggy’s death was also essentially caused by him trying to speak to the group and get everyone to return to their previous ways with order and civilization. Golding writes, “ Piggy shouted again. ‘Which is better-to have rules and agree, or to hunt and kill?’...The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee...Piggy fell forty feet and landed on his back across the square red rock in the sea.